As they headed into the end of the fall portion of their respective seasons, the expectation for the Drexel men’s and women’s squash teams was that the early-season woes that had befallen them would, hopefully, subside.
Such did not happen.
Those aforementioned woes continued for the men and women, as their four-match stretch in New England from Nov. 30 to Dec. 2 against Amherst College, Williams College, Trinity College and Middlebury College was a considerably tough one, with the men’s only victory coming in a 6-3 result against Amherst and the women winning none.
The 6-3 win for the men at Amherst came primarily from the contributions of five of their top six players, as seeds 2 through 6 — junior Justin Singh and freshmen Binura Jayasuriya, Mike Dolente, Mark Kauf and Joey Gingold — all won their individual matches. The wins from Singh, Kauf and Gingold all came in straight sets, while Jayasuriya’s win came in a dramatic five set match (11-7, 9-11, 11-9, 11-13 and 11-6).
The women’s side lost to Amherst by the same 6-3 score that their male counterparts won by, though they did get wins from freshmen Damindhi Udangawa at the No. 1 position, Kaitlyn Money at No. 2 and Lauren Rahauser at No.6. Rahauser’s win was notable in that she came back from a 0-2 deficit in order to do so, ultimately winning 7-11, 7-11, 11-4, 11-8, 11-5.
However, the next three matches against Williams, Trinity, and Middlebury for the Dragons saw both sides go winless. The men lost 8-1 in quick succession to Williams and Trinity Dec. 1 on Williams’ home courts, and they lost a tough 5-4 match a day later at Middlebury.
On the other side, the women also had a rough time of it against Williams and Trinity, getting blanked 9-0 by both while losing 7-2 at Middlebury. Drexel got wins at the top two positions in that match from Udangawa at No. 1 and Money at No. 2.
In what has been a relatively difficult portion of the season, both sides will look ahead to the winter break as a means of replenishment and renewal. The women’s side, now 1-7, is already at its break period, while the men’s side, currently at 2-6, will play one more match Dec. 7 at home against the 17th-ranked United States Naval Academy before breaking for the winter.